Poquoson softball falls to Broadway, 1-0, in AA state semifinals

RADFORD — Following the 1-0 loss to Broadway in the Group AA state semifinals, Poquoson coach Colleen Duman didn’t have anything to say at first.

With senior pitcher Maggie Tyler virtually unhittable, the Islanders advanced to the state semifinals at Radford University on strong defensive play. But as Duman said, once she found the words after the extra-inning loss Friday, every team relies on defense deep into the postseason, and the Islanders needed to capitalize offensively to earn a spot in the championship game.

“With seven hits, only one error and I don’t even know how many runners we left on base, there’s nothing more to say,” Duman said. “We should be able to score a run.”

Poquoson (25-3) stranded 11 runners, leaning on Tyler, a Virginia Tech signee. She pitched a four-hitter, striking out 11 before giving up a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth to Broadway’s Mariah Foltz, who pitched a shutout.

After Tyler had pitched three consecutive three-up, three-down innings, Broadway (22-3) caught a break as a line drive popped out of Poquoson shortstop Logan Walker’s glove to put the leadoff runner on first to start the bottom of the ninth inning.

“That was it,” Foltz said. “When that happened, we looked at each other and we said that’s a sign. We said it’s our time to score, it’s our time to win. We knew when that happened that it was our time.”

After Broadway bunted the runner over to second, Foltz said she wasn’t looking to drive in the run, but to put something on the ground and advance the runner to third. Foltz put a ball on the ground but did more than just move the runner, as it skidded past the infield into shallow left-center, easily scoring the winning run.

“You’ve got to push across one or two runs, and that’s what happened today,” Duman said. “They got a hit when they needed to with a runner in scoring position. They executed and they won.”

Even getting a runner in scoring position was a struggle for the Gobblers, from the Harrisonburg area. Tyler walked just one batter and didn’t let anyone get past second base until the final inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Broadway got back-to-back hits to put runners on first and second with no outs, but Tyler responded with three strikeouts, ending the threat.

“We knew coming in that she’s going to Tech,” Broadway coach Becky Cantrell said. “I told my kids, ’You’re a high school team going against a college pitcher. Let’s show them we can do this.’ They stayed patient and got a break when we needed it.”

For Poquoson, getting on base wasn’t the challenge. The Islanders had a runner on in every inning, but three baserunning blunders cost them some opportunities.

Poquoson got a runner to third three times, including the ninth — when senior second baseman Hanna Ealey was at third with senior center fielder Brooke Sarrazin at second — but a strikeout swinging on a full count squandered the final opportunity.

“We just didn’t execute when we needed to, having runners on first and second, or second and third, and not being able to push across a run,” Duman said. “It is what it is.”